eBay's calculated shipping is less than what it actually costs?
Summary: A participant raised concerns about eBay's calculated shipping charges being lower than the actual shipping costs incurred when using Canada Post. flipistics and reallynicestamps provided explanations and tips, suggesting checking the details like business discounts and fuel surcharges, and whether different services, such as Expedited post, could be cheaper. ypdc_dennis added insights about sales tax and eBay's practices in displaying shipping costs, and 3islanders acknowledged these factors, mentioning challenges with finding business rates and agreeing that eBay uses business discount rates which may not match a seller's own rates. arthur789 shared a similar experience of discrepancies in shipping costs, suggesting it feels like a systemic oversight by eBay.
Is anybody finding that after you enter size & weight for your items, the amount eBay charges buyers based on that information is less than what it will cost you to ship it? I don't sell much at all, but this is the 2nd time it's happened. For an Expresspost item, eBay charged the buyer 'x' amount, and when I checked Canada Post's site with the same info, it's more. We are already losing money when we charge shipping honestly at cost, because they charge fees on that... what the heck with the shipping prices? 😠
arthur789
·1 year agoEbay absolutely does this. I have been tracking shipping costs charged to buyers and what my *online* label purchases through ebay cost (post office is of course more), and they do not match...the buyer always pays less than ebay charges us. I have even inflated the weight and dimensions in the listings to make up for it, and they STILL charge us more than the buyer pays! It's a rip off that ebay figures too few people will notice.
3islanders
OP3 years agoI know the fuel surcharge thing is random... now that Cda Post has redone their website it seems to be harder to find the small-business rates, and yes I do have a card. It does seem that eBay is charging buyers the business-discount rate, so those who don't have it would be losing out.
I don't believe I have any "built in discounts" since I wouldn't know where to find such a thing.
I don't buy shipping from eBay; I take it to the post office. Yeah, I know: old school. I do usually get expedited there.
Pretty much zero reason to register to collect sales tax given how few items I sell, or am interested in selling, on eBay.
So far, my bubble wrap and boxes are free because I never throw anything out and have a stash of both.
LOL, yes, I recall Canada adopting the metric system some time ago...!! 😛
flipistics
·3 years agolotzofuniquegoodies
·1 year agoypdc_dennis
·3 years agoA second thought: shipping sales tax and how it is handled
eBay shows the calculated Canada Post shipping cost without sales tax added. eBay collects sales tax from the Buyer on item+shipping -- the Seller does not get that sales tax.
When you buy the shipping, sales tax is added to the Seller's cost.
So what you actually paid may end up higher or lower than what you got from eBay.
A good reason to be registered to collect sales tax, since you can recover sales tax spent on shipping.
Or you can use discounted stamps to ship parcels in Canada -- sales tax is assumed to be included in the face value of the stamps, so the tax is not added to the price.
-;-
ypdc_dennis
·3 years agoI checked a few of my listings that have calculated shipping (regular parcel).
Canada Post shows shipping to the same postal code matches what ebay displays.
Any sales made on the weekend and shipped on Monday may have a difference caused by the fuel surcharge adjustment (but that can go up or down depending on the week). The change tonight will see the surcharge drop from 24% (Apr 10-16) to 23.5% (Apr 17-23).
https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/cpc/en/support/kb/sending/rates-dimensions/fuel-surcharges-on-mail-and-parcels
reallynicestamps
·3 years agoAre you using metric measures? Because if you are using anything else, there will be drift. Canada Post went metric in 1974.
Do you have your Solutions for Small Business account with Canada Post?
Why are you using ExpressPost when Expedited (which does not appear on Canada Post's public website) is cheaper for the same service?
Are you looking at what the buyer sees (counter prices) or what you see (often with discounts from 5% to 38% from counter rate)?
We are already losing money when we charge shipping honestly at cost,
Your costs for shipping include not only eBay fees but Canada Post's fuel surcharge and GST, not to mention packaging. Bubblewrap is not free.
Otherwise, no, I find I pay less to ship than my customer pays me when I use Calculated Shipping.
flipistics
·3 years agoWhat days have you checked on and when was it purchased? Remember that the Canada Post fuel surcharge updates weekly now.
Are you checking Canada Post with a level 1 business discount? That's the discount tier that eBay labels receives.
Do you have a discount built in that you forgot about (domestic shipping discount) in your shipping preference settings for your account?
flipistics
·3 years agoAlso, are the dimensions and weight you're putting into Canada Post identical to the ones you put into eBay when you created the listing?